Overstock.com to battle Amazon with new streaming services

Overstock will soon be joining Amazon in the video-on-demand and streaming business.

During a speaking engagement at the National Association of Television Program Executives conference in Miami, Overstock CEO Patrick M. Byrne said his company is preparing to debut a video-on-demand service in mid-2015 that’ll be stocked with roughly 30,000 titles.

A streaming service with both original and acquired content will follow.

The VOD service will be free of charge to members of Overstock’s rewards program, Club O. The streaming service, which Overstock hopes to have active by the end of the year, will come at an additional cost that hasn’t yet been determined.

Club O also includes free shipping, VIP access and rewards of five to 40 percent on select items. A year-long membership is $19.95 but is free to qualified military personnel, first responders and students.

The executive said his company gets anywhere between 25 million to 40 million unique visitors each month meaning traffic shouldn't be an issue. Overstock will analyze its visitors’ search results to get an idea of the types of movies and television shows to make available through the new services.

Interestingly enough, the streaming services will be run by a third-party although Byrne wasn’t yet ready to name names. He did, however, say that the service will be a direct competitor to Amazon and that he thinks their loyalty program is better than Amazon’s.